Really enjoyed my run this morning. Have struggled a bit the past few weeks but I took the time to plan some different routes last night and felt much more motivated this morning, knowing that I was aiming to get to a favourite spot of mine along the beautiful River Taff.
Didn’t quite make it today, managed 6k and hoping to increase it on Sunday. I’m finding it a bit easier not running on roads although I am still so slow. I’m happy to just keep plodding along at a very slow pace and concentrate on increasing distance but sometimes wonder if this isn’t the right attitude!?
Also thinking about trail shoes but am worried about setting aside my beloved Sauconys ❤️ Any thoughts?
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sarah65
Graduate10
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No such thing as too slow, especially if you are happy with what you are doing, after all this is your time and exercise. Trail shoes are neutral shoes so different to road shoes so your Saucony's will be happy to share the load😄. Also getting used to different shoes before your old ones wear out (usually around 300-500 miles, very approximate)?is a good idea.
If you're having fun then no!! Trail running is slower than roads anyway. Don't get hung up on speed, stamina is so much more valuable in my view. Remember the tortoise! 👍😉
My trail shoes are Saucony and are sooo comfy. Like running on cushions and I thought my Brooks road trainers were comfy!! Trail shoes are designed to help you get through the terrain.
I swap back and forth depending on routes. If there's too much tarmac then I don't choose the trailies as it will wear them out too fast.
The speed you go is the speed you want to go, slow running uses the abdominals and calves a lot more than the quads and as such some people actually struggle to go slower. If you do want to get quicker either because you want to see if you can, want to burn more calories, improves your cardio or just want to travel further in the time available then you need to practice running quicker in order to get there, if you decide you want that then intervals, hill repeats, fartleks etc should be investigated.
I find running on trails naturally slows me down which for me is a good thing, also the more interesting terrain helps the journey seem shorter and less monotonous.
Thanks for this. I wasn’t aware of the benefits of slow running! The point you make about running further in the available time is very relevant to me as time is short in the week as I’m running before work. I’m hoping that by doing shorter runs in the week and building up to longer running runs at the weekend I will gradually be able to do more in two 40 mins available on weekdays! I’m also about a stone and a half overweight (although lost a stone in the past 6 months with better running being the motivation)I’m hoping I will get better when carrying less weight.
I'm going to paste in here my reply to a comment from my run this morning - because I'm slower than most people on this forum: *I also think I'm a distance runner in the making, rather than a speedy one like you. i wonder if it makes a difference running slower and further. I cant speed up - I'm running in the maximum heart rate zone most of the time as it is - but i do seem to be able to just keep plodding on for k after k.* My average pace for this run was 9.03 min/km.
It's worth getting trail shoes. I got some Asics ones which are good on and off road and are very lightweight. Then you can keep the Sauconys for road only or shorter runs. It's good to rotate shoes anyway, particularly to give different muscles etc a rest. I have two pairs of road shoes and one trail. Expensive outlay, yes, but then it will be ages before I have to replace them as they are sharing the load.
I do know what you mean about pace: i would love to be faster because it is more exhilarating, and because I'm passed and left behind by absolutely every other runner i meet; but I think speed will improve over time. at my age I don't expect to ever be as speedy as when I ran as a teenager.
Thanks for this FlickM3. I’ve read a lot of your posts and would like to build up to the distances you do! I feel that I can plod on, managed 7k last weekend, took me an hour but felt so proud of myself. I was buzzing all day. Will definitely go for the trail shoes - planning to run in the woods soon so will need them!
Thanks! A year ago I would have never believed I could run at all and my goal was 30 mins. I just keep wanting to run a bit further which in my case means more slowly !
What a fantastic conversation- running and shoes 😍😍😍I’m new to running- recent C25K graduate but I’m most definitely built for distance not speed. I swam competitively as a child/early teen and I did the distances rather than the sprints. It’s a similar mind set for me, I switch off and plod along. Up to 6k last week on Ju-Ju’s plan but could have carried on at a slow pace. Now I’m off to research shooooooes...:
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